Friday, January 25, 2008

What is Wrong With People?!

My roommate tipped me off to this story and I followed up with some trusty research on the internet*. Apparently, a poll was conducted asking people what they would rather have, Jennifer Aniston’s body or a million dollars. 78% said they would want the money, with 22% saying they would rather have Jennifer Aniston’s body. I thought, okay, that’s good, I’d rather have the money too. This was reported on one of those morning shows, and their spin? Well, that people are choosing wealth over health. Seriously, give me a break. The bottom line is this…people in America need money. Most have debt issues, mortgages, children, groceries to buy, gadgets to keep up with, and on and on. Tune into the news and anyone can see the economy is in crisis. So yeah, people are going to choose the money. And let’s be honest. Jennifer Aniston as the picture of “health”? Sure, she is skinny and such, but how do these celebrities end up looking the way they do? They have the time and money to work out all the time, they may even employ unhealthy health habits, and they have plastic surgery!

The survey also asked people if they felt comfortable with their body. Only 11% said great, 59% said OK, with some trouble spots, and 30% said they felt uncomfortable and ashamed. Well, of course people (women in particular) don’t feel good about their body—they are constantly told they need to look like someone like Jennifer Aniston to be of value!! I do not mean to diminish the fact that yes, we as Americans do have a problem with obesity and overweight people…but average, healthy people end of feeling ashamed of their body because of the media. The kicker to all this: this gem of a quote. "That really doesn't make very much sense," points out dietician Keri Glassman. "People are saying, 'I don't like the way I feel, I'm ashamed of my body, I'm uncomfortable, yet I'd rather have money than look great and be healthy.' " Glassman says Americans should rethink what's important: "I think this survey absolutely points to the fact that our values are a little off." Values a little off? What a joke. So seriously, what is wrong with people?

4 comments:

I suppose if that were me, I'd rather have the money at which point I would have time (wouldn't have to work anymore) to work out as well as do other things with it (personal trainer anyone?). So in the end, by choosing the money, I'd get both. WELL, not her body, for the love, but health and wealth.

I thought this survey and story were really stupid. Why is Jennifer Aniston the gold standard for health? Isn't she a chain smoker. I'd rather have the money too. THe media should focus on something important!

Just another reason to not believe what is reported on television... or in print or radio for that matter. And the media is unbiased? They can put any spin on any bit of information; it really is unsettling.

Anyway, I would, like any other logical person, take the money as well, since I already have a perfectly functional body (even if it's not totally healthy). And Amber has a point -- wealth does give you some options in the health area. After all, those in poverty or in welfare in our country are reported to be the least healthy group of people. Of course, that was reported by the media, which may or may not have the story straight.

I - also - would take the money, 'cuz I just don't want a body like Jennifer Aniston's. ...that'd be creepy.

This is exactly why I hate polls. The data from them can be interpretted in too many ways...although I'm not sure if this can actually be considered an interpretation of the data or a stretch to try to link the two things together. While I do see the "Wealth over Health" thing as an actual phenomenon in the U.S., this particular survey has nothing to do with.

Now if the survey had asked, "Would you rather have a personal trainer, nutritionist, and chef work for you free of charge until you got a body like Jennifer Aniston OR take the money that it would cost to pay those people but you HAVE to stay in your current state of health or worse", we'd actually maybe get some meaningful data about this topic.

On Record

"No love, no friendship can cross the path of our destiny without leaving some mark on it forever."-Francois Mauriac

"We must not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we began and to know the place for the first time."-T.S. Eliot

"One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terribly important."-Bertrand Russell

"The problems that exist in the world today cannot be solved by the level of thinking that created them."- Albert Einstein

"Too bad all the people who know how to run the country are busy driving taxi cabs and cutting hair."-George Burns"Whoever said, 'It's not whether you win or lose that counts,' probably lost."-Martina Navratilova

"I feel like 'Cactus Gavvy' Cravath. Do you know who that is? Right. Nobody does. He's the guy who had the home run record before Babe Ruth came along."-Tom Walsh, of Washington D.C. (He held the record for "Jeopardy" winnings until Ken Jennings of SLC broke it.)